


Tricks and Treats

by Count_Fagula



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: AkuRoku - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Amusement Parks, Awkward Flirting, Dating, Fluff, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Haunted Houses, I accidentally reflex punched the haunted house worker who jumped out at me, M/M, Romance, and now i need to find a proper way to apologize
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27560560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Count_Fagula/pseuds/Count_Fagula
Summary: Roxas and his friends visit an amusement park to properly celebrate the spooky season.As Roxas gets seperated from his friends and accidentaly punches the haunted house worker who jumps on him in he face, things take a different turn.
Relationships: Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Tricks and Treats

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a trade for halloween. I am a bit late and i hope my trade partner @ceceliatarleton likes it.  
> One of the prompts was i accidentally reflex punched the haunted house worker that jumped out on me and now i need to find a proper way to appologize and i had to do that.  
> Tried to hint the others but i sadly couldn't fit them all in properly.  
> I am all but open for criticism, english isn't my first language so i hope i didn't mess up too much.  
> If you want something fluffy for Halloween (or all year for that matter) i hope you will like this.  
> hope you enjoy :)

It had been Axel's idea - of course it had been.  
Every year in autumn, when it got cool and the trees swapped their green costumes for something much more colourful, helpers were sought for the small amusement park in the neighbourhood who would provide the right atmosphere in the evening hours. This was only to the benefit of the many students, as it was easy money with reasonable working hours and a job that, for many, was more enjoyable than anything else. It wasn't particularly difficult once you'd overcome your initial shyness, and for many - Axel included - it was actually a lot of fun.  
While in summer the park was full of children who enjoyed their holidays to the fullest, in October each time it was transformed into a paradise for those who were looking for a little darker kind of entertainment. As soon as it got dark, the park seemed to swarm with disguised employees who loved nothing more than to frighten the visitors. There was even a haunted house that only opened its doors at this special time for those who wanted to test the strength of their nerves.  
Axel had been telling his best friend for years that he should finally get over himself and join in, and every year he had found a new excuse why he couldn't be there. This year, however, Axel had actually managed to persuade him at a weak moment to show up at least once to one of the rehearsal meetings. The fact that Saix had finally, grudgingly agreed was almost certainly due to his damn good powers of persuasion and had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that their fridge had once again become dangerously empty. Sometimes all it took was the right incentive and even the most stubborn donkey could be persuaded...  
During the briefing, which Axel was able to recite almost by heart, instead of really listening to the young lady who prayed down what to do and what not to do, he let his eyes wander over the rest of the audience. Some of the faces he already knew from the last years, in fact there were surprisingly few newcomers - except for one rather bad-tempered young man, who could be surprisingly intimidating even without a costume. Saix really did give the impression sometimes, that you had to be careful for him to not rip your head off. And on his to do list at the moment, Axel was probably at the top.  
"I'm glad you're already absorbed in the role," Axel teased him quietly and gave him a little nudge to the side, "I'm sure you'll turn into a real professional.”  
Saix acknowledged his stupid remark with little more than a stern look and a quiet snort before turning his face away again. Satisfied with himself, Axel leaned further back in his chair and listened to the explanation, which fortunately came to an end. The work was not particularly hard after all. Basically there were two important rules for everyone to follow:  
1\. Visitors may be scared by any (reasonable) means available, but it was not allowed to touch er even hold onto them.  
2\. If a visitor panicked or otherwise overreacted, the fright had to be stopped immediately.  
This was easy to understand even to those who were not usually the brightest candles on the cake.

"Remind me again exactly how you managed to persuade me....to do this", Saix made a vague hand movement that more or less encompassed the entire room and gave the costume he would soon be wearing a look that was dripping with scepticism.  
He put up with the clothes - with a great deal of goodwill - but the fake fur, which adorned a large part of his costume and culminated in a pair of ears that he was to put on his head really knocked the bottom out of the barrel. He would not mind wringing the neck of the person responsible for this...but since he was not only his best friend but also his roommate, this would only cause him more problems in the long run, so he tried to keep his temper in check.  
But despite all his willpower, he was not particularly keen to squeeze himself into a costume for the whole evening. Quite contrary to the aforementioned best friend, who was already half in his costume... In his humble opinion, Axel's costume was little more than a random collection of old-fashioned clothes, which might have been chic at one time, but had been worn out by the costume designers.  
"Now don't be such a sourpuss all the time. Even you will enjoy it, you'll see. Besides, with this whole thing we'll kill two birds with one stone! We get free admission and you're allowed to scare children!"  
Saix skillfully ignored the triumphantly stretched two fingers in the air and paid tribute to Axel's words with nothing more than a grumpy snort. The grin could be heard so clearly that Saix didn't even have to look at him. Unlike him, the redhead just bubbled over with enthusiasm as he slipped into the tattered jacket that rounded off his outfit. After all, the effect make-up Xion had given them earlier was damn good, even Saix couldn't deny that. If he didn't know any better, he'd almost say the blood was real.  
"What exactly are you supposed to represent again?" he was only too happy to take the wind out of Axel's sails when he looked at himself in the mirror, obviously satisfied, and a little grin fluttered across his lips. The redhead pulled a face and crossed his arms in front of his chest before he tapped his temple with a wry grin.  
"Don't fuck with me. I am obviously a vampire, got it memorized?" he replied as he sat down and laced up his shoes, baring his false teeth for a moment," Now get into your clothes, we don't have forever.  
The brazen grin he threw at Saix made him grind his teeth furiously before he turned away and reached for the clothes that were still innocently waiting for him on the chair. He could only delay the inevitable...

Towards the afternoon, as the families with younger children slowly packed up and left and the sun began to set, excited anticipation spread among the other visitors. It was the only time of the year when the park opened its doors until late at night, attracting the most courageous guests with all kinds of shows and activities.  
Halloween, the scariest and most beautiful time of the year.  
"It's about to start. Sure you won't wet your pants?"  
Olette raised her eyes from her wristwatch and gave Hayner, who had casually leaned back on the bench opposite her, a sceptical look, "You can still change your mind if you'd rather go home.”  
"You'd better not get so puffed up, it'll only be embarrassing for you," the brunette replied with a wink and stuck her tongue out at the boy. His confident grin only widened as she jumped on his little provocation.  
"That's right, you'd better not make yourself unpopular. Otherwise Olette will only protect Roxas and me afterwards. When things get really bad," Pence now joined in and reaped approving laughter from two of his friends. Roxas nodded in agreement and nudged Hayners side lightly with his elbow, "Exactly. Everyone knows she's the toughest of us. And you know what they say: The haunted house here is supposed to be the scariest one of all. Tons of pictures from this picture corner. People look like they've been scared to death. Sure you won't change your mind?"  
The blond grinned contentedly and crossed his arms behind his head as the mutual teasing turned into shared laughter at some point.  
It was just before six - with the chime of the big clock tower in the middle of the park the horror festival would officially begin and hundreds of monsters would swarm out to frighten the remaining visitors. The day could not have been more perfect. Since they arrived this morning, the sun had been shining and the otherwise cool autumn air had warmed up pleasantly. Now, however, the light was giving way to dusk and a light breeze came up, playfully driving a few of the colourful leaves in front of them and ruffled the youngsters' hair.  
Their laughter still hung in the air as they rose from their small resting place to join the crowd of visitors who were pushing towards the haunted house.  
A light ground fog wafted around their feet as they stood in front of the entrance of the impressive building, whether of natural origin or created by cleverly placed fog machines, it was impossible to tell. No sooner had they crossed the threshold than the murmuring of the guests outside muffled down and fell silent completely as the heavy oak door closed behind them, leaving them in seemingly impenetrable darkness.

"Hey, watch your step", somebody put their hands on Roxas' back, pushed him and he stumbled forward. A glance over his shoulder revealed only vague silhouettes of his friends stumbling through the entrance hall behind him, whispering softly together.  
"It smells musty..." - "Did you hear that?" - "Disgusting, I think I've got caught in cobwebs." - "Psssht, don't shout in here." -  
A small grin crept up on the blonde's lips and he shook his head briefly at the childish behaviour of his friends.  
"Get a grip on yourself. Nothing happened," he gave the person standing closest to him a friendly pat on the shoulder and received a quiet complaint in return. Then he turned completely towards the room and took a few steps into the darkness.  
A lonely gas lamp deeper in the room flared up without warning. Flickering, it broke through the darkness just enough for the four to take a vague look deeper into the bowels of the building and brought the approaching argument to an immediate end. Floorboards creaked under their feet, everywhere something squeaked, cracked and rustled. It was almost impossible to make out where the noises were coming from, they seemed to be coming from inside the building itself - loudspeakers safely hidden in the walls, Roxas reminded himself that all of this was only a deception. A good one, but still a deception.  
A whisper could be heard from somewhere, but maybe he was just imagining it. Again he felt someone pressing their hands on his back and pushing him forward. When he turned around, Hayner threw an innocent grin at him, "Come on, don't dawdle."  
He was one to talk! Roxas rolled his eyes, his eyebrows wandered rebukingly upwards. Hadn't Hayner just been the one bloating he wouldn't be scared?  
So once again it was up to him to take matters into his own hands, his friends had obviously decided to hide behind him - or at least to send him forward first.  
So he straightened his back, shot Hayner one last haughty look, and then made his way through the entrance hall with a firm step.  
Olette was the first to follow, Hayner and Pence trotted after him at a distance to keep up.  
Their footsteps stirred up a small layer of dust that Roxas would not have expected to find in such a well-visited place - what one seemed to do for the atmosphere here.  
The first moments in the old-looking house were tense, everyone seemed to hold their breath and listened for the slightest creak of the thick floorboards.  
But as the minutes went by without anything happening, the tension that had involuntarily settled over the small group eased and Hayner was the first to interrupt the tense silence with a joke.  
Soon the others joined in and the tension left the four friends, making room for quiet laughter and conversation. Should this really be the haunted house that had such a good reputation? So far Roxas could not really imagine that. Except for some cobwebs and the creaking of the huge house, it was.... well normal. Almost boring.  
The calm lasted just long enough for a distant scream to reach them from the lower corridors of the building. Olette stumbled in an attempt to catch up with her friends, bumped into Pence and he set off a chain reaction that eventually caused Roxas to almost fall.  
"What was that?" - "I think something touched me. It just frightened me. Sorry.”  
The tension and excitement caused by the impending horror was back and Olette threw a worried look over her shoulder as she slowly started moving again. Even the boys were not quite so carefree now. Hayner in particular watched the walls, which by now had gotten so close to them that they didn't even have to stretch out their hands to touch the old plaster or the thick wooden beams.  
An oppressive, claustrophobic feeling settled over them.  
Some places were so narrow that you almost had to squeeze through, or at least that's how it felt in the still all-encompassing darkness. Although there were always little sources of light, it was hard to see your hand in front of your eyes when you had one in your back. Again and again threads, bits of fabric or something entirely different hanging from the ceiling would brush their faces and send an unexpected shiver down your spine.  
More than once someone bumped into Roxas because he was frightened and wanted to leave this narrow corridor as quickly as possible.  
But the next time Roxas turned around, when he reached one of the sparsely distributed lamps, he found that his friends had magically disappeared. The corridor lay silent and dark before him, and he stood still, confused, listening to the shadows that the lamp could hardly control.  
"Hayner? Pence? Olette?"  
Roxas took a few hesitant steps back in the direction he had just come from - his friends right behind him until a few moments ago.  
"Come on, cut the crap!"  
Surely it was one of the silly jokes Hayner always made up and now he had dragged the other two into it. They were probably standing behind the next corner in the shadows, just waiting for him to come looking for them and give him a fright in return.  
"Don't think I'm going to fall for your nonsense," he called in a firm voice into the darkness, "I'm certainly not waiting for you if you want to dawdle around.”  
He hoped his voice sounded more secure than he felt at that moment. Maybe he had just missed a junction, or a false wall had opened and separated his friends from him. After all, they were in a haunted house that had earned itself an excellent reputation over the years and caused terror far and wide. The thought that he had lost his friends here and that he might have to go on without them to find the exit did bother him more than he would admit to himself.  
No. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Then he clenched his jaw in annoyance. This was just a lame attempt of his friends to catch him on the wrong foot and scare him. He would certainly not fall for it and give them this satisfaction!  
Instead of waiting for the three of them, he turned back on his heel to follow the narrow corridor further into the semi-darkness that stretched behind his back. Except that not the faint light of the small lamp he had left behind was waiting for him, but a long shadow rising above him.  
What the hell was that? How could it sneak up behind him so fast? And without making any noise?  
His pulse accelerated in seconds until he felt it in his throat, blood rushing in his ears.  
His body reacted seemingly on its own and before he could realise what was going on his arm tightened, smashing his fist into the face of the figure in front of him.  
"Fuck!"  
The guy stumbled back and Roxas, shocked about his reaction, lowered his arm and stared at him with big eyes. Did that really just happen? His knuckles were throbbing uncomfortably from the collision with the other guy's nose, so he certainly hadn't imagined the whole thing...  
Now that the guy had stopped a few steps away from him and no longer covered the lamp with his back, it was more than clear that he was just an employee who was here to scare the guests. He was obviously wearing a costume, Victorian clothes that had their best days behind them, but nonetheless flattered his slim silhouette and oh boy.... he looked damn good!  
Now that the adrenaline that had been released in his body during the initial shock was slowly draining away, Roxas suddenly realised that he had just given the poor guy a juicy punch on the nose.  
Immediately hot embarrassment spread through him, heat not only rose up his cheeks but he felt it up to the tips of his ears.  
"Fuck, I'm really sorry," he brought out quietly and still a bit confused, but waited helplessly and stared at the redhead in front of him.  
The guy clutched his nose and, at least for the moment, didn't seem to notice him at all.  
Small, dark red drops fell between his fingers, leaving stains on the already quite dirty collar.

This was far from what Axel had expected when he had sneaked up on the blonde to give him a proper fright. It wasn't the first time he had used this trick, and his victims had always either screamed like mad when he suddenly stood behind them, or they had been frozen in terror. Then the light was briefly extinguished and he had disappeared through the secret door in the walls he initially came trough, leaving the visitors in the dark.  
Well, obviously the whole thing had not gone according to plan today. Instead, he stood there in the middle of the corridor, holding his aching nose and dripping blood on his costume, still taken by surprise by the blonde's brutal reaction.  
"Are you okay?" a voice tore him back into reality, "Your nose is bleeding.”  
The blond boy was now standing right in front of him and inspected him with a mixture of worry and anger.  
"Don't worry, I get nosebleeds pretty quickly," Axel replied quite nasally, not wanting to worry the other too much. It was an annoyance, though.  
When he was sure that the nosebleed had subsided at least a little and he could safely put his fingers down, he raised his eyes and looked at his 'attacker' properly for the first time. He had to admit what he saw of him was quite cute cute - but he had also just unscrupulously punched him right in the face and Axel wasn't sure what to make of it. Especially now that the guy was obviously angry with him for frightening him. Who in his right mind came to a haunted house and then got annoyed that someone wanted to scare him? Wasn't that the whole point why he came here in the first place? To be scared?  
"Well, you shouldn't have sneaked up on him like that," he said with a slightly defiant undertone, even though Axel had noticed that his face had taken on a rather healthy colour. So the whole thing was at least a little uncomfortable for him too. Served him right for punching him.  
"That's what happens here. What else did you expect?"  
What he had expected however, he wouldn't find out too soon. The blonde's friends, who Saix and him had separated a while before, had apparently caught up with him again.  
"Roxas! There you are," the brunette girl was the first to arrive and looked at his attacker and then at him with raised eyebrows. The question of what the hell happened here was clearly written on her face. The two boys were right behind her and to his great surprise - and annoyance - Saix also showed up, following the teenagers.  
He could see the gloating grin even before it spread to his best friends lips as he checked out Axels bloody nose. What the hell did he have to show up here for? As if the whole thing wasn't embarrassing enough already!  
"Not a single word," he warned him as Saix pushed his way through the blonde's friends and finally shoved the blonde - whose name was apparently Roxas - out of the way.  
"I don't need one," Saix replied with a smug grin - no, he really didn't - then he turned to the four young people standing behind him all dressed up and with nowhere to go, watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. They had probably expected a lot when they came in here, but obviously not something like this.  
"What about you lot? Don't you have things to do?. I'll take care of it from here. You'd better get yourselfs out of here."  
His gaze didn't allow for any contradiction, so after just a short hesitation the four of them squeezed past him and Saix to get out of the way, following Saix's suggestion. The blond hesitated a little and looked back at Axel for a second, before he too disappeared. Axels gaze lingered for a while, then him and Saix Made their way into one of the employees' rooms through one of the hidden doors to tend to his still bleeding nose.

The rest of the evening was filled with spiteful laces and satisfied laughter from his best friend as they worked the rest of their shift off. Once the nosebleed had subsided completely and Axel had washed his face, he had insisted on continuing to work. Mainly to avoid Saix, who never got tired of teasing him about the whole incident.  
It was damn late when they finally got off work and out of their costumes and today even Axel couldn't wait to get home, get into bed and just forget about the whole damn day. What an embarrassment...  
But forgetting was not an option, because in front of the exit of the park waited no one else but the culprit who had brought this disgrace upon him in the first place.  
"Hey," he halted Axel's attempt to tried to walk past him, blocking his way. He actually seemed a bit contrite, so Axel dismissed his thought of leaving him standing there, and instead gestured to Saix, who had stopped next to him, that he should go on ahead.  
The blonde followed Saix with his gaze until he seemed to be out of earshot, then he turned back to Axel, obviously relieved that he would at least talk to him alone.  
"Your friend looks kind of creepy even without a costume," he started with a little grin and Axel couldn't help but mirror it. At least he was right, Saix could be damn scary when he wanted to be. He knew that better than anyone else.  
"Ahh, he's all bark, and no bite," he assured the blonde, whose grin widened a little. Then Axel crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at him waiting, his thin brows raised questioningly.

Roxas ran his fingers through his blonde hair, obviously a little embarrassed and avoided looking the taller one directly in the face for a moment. Then he raised his gaze again, this time giving him an apologetic smile.  
"I'm sorry for... you know.... About your nose."  
He tapped his index finger against his own nose to underline his words, laughing nervously, hoping the other wouldn't hold it against him too badly. Fortunately nothing worse seemed to have happened. His nose seemed just fine, though still a little too red.  
As he examined him a moment, he had to admit that the redhead looked even better now that his face was clean and he wasn't trying to give him the fright of his life than he did earlier at the haunted house... which didn't necessarily make this any less awkward.  
"I didn't know if I'd really catch you. And uhm... I'm not good at apologizing, I'm afraid. But I didn't want to leave it like that either, so I waited," he rubbed his fingers across his neck once more, then stretched his hand out to the redhead.  
"I am Roxas," he waited for the other to grab his hand and sighed in relief when he really did.  
"Axel. Nice to meet you, unless you get violent again right away," he replied with a mischievous grin before letting go of Roxas' hand.  
"Hey, that was practically self-defence," Roxas immediately became defensive again and now crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I also apologised.”  
Axel was probably just teasing, but Roxas still sulked a little and looked at the older one rebukingly, which didn't make the grin on his lips go away. Finally the blond sighed softly, lowered his arms again and instead reached behind him for a paper bag that had gone unnoticed until then.  
"I hope you like coffee. I thought I could get one for you. As reparation, you might say?"  
He took out one of the thermo mugs and, relieved to find that it was still warm, held it out to the redhead. He accepted the cup, a little confused. Roxas in turn took the second cup out of the bag and gave Axel another mischievous grin.  
"Pumpkin Spice," Roxas noted and pointed to the cup in Axel's hands, "Damn good, you should try it if you haven't tasted it yet.”  
He took a small sip from his own cup and absent-mindedly ran his tongue across his lips. He loved the taste of cinnamon. 

Surprised, Axel discovered when he took a small sip from the cup, that the taste of cinnamon and pumpkin was much more intense than he had expected. Not unpleasant, but definitely interesting. Did he notice any parallels to a certain blonde? Even if the 'not unpleasant' still had to be debated. He hadn't forgotten the hard right punch. The little one might be quite cute, but apparently that only disguised the fact that he was a big shot. You really didn't want to be on the receiving end of his anger, Axel would definitely remember that.  
But he wouldn't let him off the hook that quickly. Not after he had taken the trouble to wait for him.  
"Well. Coffee is a nice start...." he lowered his cup and grinned at Roxas, "And I admit, it doesn't taste that bad. But that's pretty damn poor for an excuse, don't you think?"  
Roxas also let his cup sink when he was about to take a sip and looked at Axel with pursed lips. Pretty cute, indeed.  
"I told you I'm not very good at apologising!"  
Pouting, he turned his gaze to the side, which only widened Axel's grin.

What was that all about? Was he really going to keep harping on it the whole time? After all it hadn't been intentional and Axel had frightened him, wasn't he to blame, if even a little bit, for the whole incident?  
"Then why don't you get your brain to work, Shorty. You've done quite a lot to my pretty face."  
Oh God, really?! Just as Axel tried to flick his forehead with his finger, Roxas quickly pushed his hand aside and instead poked his index finger against the taller one's chest.  
"Rule number one: No stupid nicknames, okay? And don't be too cocky, you're not that good-looking."  
To underline his words, he pricked the other mans chest once more before lowering his hand again, shoving it into his pocket instead. Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly true ... the guy looked damn good. And he obviously knew it too, because he was at least as cocky as he was handsome.  
"So you think I'm a little bit good-looking at least?" Axel kept teasing.  
Urgh, did he really mean it now? Roxas was annoyed that he hit the bull's eye with that, but refused to admit it. This idiot could wait for that forever.  
"If you keep this up, I'll take back the coffee and the apology!" he threatened instead.  
Roxas was still not sure whether he should find the other's cocky attitude likeable or annoying. Probably a little of both, he had yet to figure out which part would prevail. He could feel his pulse rising again and for a moment he was more than willing to just leave the guy standing there and forget the whole thing. He wouldn't be made a fool of...  
Axel finally seemed to notice that he had perhaps taken his game a bit far, because he interrupted Roxas' sulking.  
"Come on, I'll help you, okay? You could invite me to dinner for example, that would be a good start, wouldn't it? I wouldn't mind a late snack and I'm hungry too."  
Surprised, Roxas blinked at the other, then his face relaxed again and a mischievous smile returned to his lips.  
"Dinner, huh? Well, not a bad idea. But I'll the place. If I have to pay for it."

"You have to?" Axel's eyebrows moved upwards, as did his hands, but the grin on his lips never wavered, "What now? You wanted to apologise to me. I'm trying to be generous here, to lighten your burden. A little more enthusiasm, please."  
Slowly Axel started to like this little exchange and if he interpreted the blond's facial expressions correctly, then at least part of his bad mood was just an act.  
That being said, food didn't sound too bad at all. His lunch break had been ages ago. If the blonde would pay, so much the better - and he had attracted Axels interest with his no-bullshit attitude. Who knew what this evening would lead to?  
"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to sleep soundly tonight despite feeling maybe a little guilty."  
Roxas' voice tore him out of his thoughts. The blond had his arms crossed again in front of his chest and a smug grin on his lips, while he was obviously waiting for an answer from the redhead, "Do you want to eat or not? I'm not planning on standing around here half the night."  
"All right, Sh- Roxas. Take me out for dinner."  
Roxas knitted his eyebrows together and stared at him for a second, surprised. Even the smug smile disappeared from his lips for a moment.  
"This is not a date!"  
"It's not? What a shame!"  
Satisfied with himself, Axel shoved his free hand into his pocket and looked expectantly at the blonde, who seemed to have himself under control again a moment later.

What the hell?!? Did that guy just flirt with him? For a moment he really caught him by surprise, so much so, that he could only stare at him and even felt the tips of his ears warm up again. What an idiot...  
"All right, let's go. It's getting cold, I've been waiting a while."  
Before turning around, he punched Axels arm, probably a little harder than needed, then he made his way over the almost empty parking lot, trusting Axel would follow him. This way he was also able to hide the little smile that was spreading on his lips. The whole thing became more and more interesting by the minute. 

Roxas wouldn't quite describe the place he had dragged Axel to as inviting or posh. Judging by the expression on Axel's face, he had expected something a little... less crappy.  
He threw a cheeky grin at Axel.  
"Come on. Make yourself comfortable," he pushed him inside, where warm air and the smell of frying fat wafted towards them. The diner was small and looked rather shabby, but from the kitchen the smell of freshly fried fries poured out - just right for a late snack.  
Roxas sat down opposite Axel at a small table in one of the corners and grabbed the menu.  
"Don't worry. It doesn't look like much, but the burgers are really not bad. I'd just stay away from the sausages."  
He winked mischievously at Axel, then studied the menu for a moment, but quickly closed it again.  
"We could share a plate of fries," he suggested with a little smile.  
"Uh, yeah sure," Axel seemed to study the menu a little longer, but was forced to make a quick decision when the waitress came to their table.  
When she had disappeared again, Roxas thoughtfully put his hands under her chin and looked curiously at the redhead.  
"So, does this satisfy you? Or should I get down on my knees before you to apologize after dinner?"  
"Depends on how good the food is. But I'll keep the offer in mind," Axel replied immediately and now closed his menu to give Roxas his full attention.  
"That was not an offer. But it's good to know you're into that!"

Roxas laughed, an honest laugh this time and Axel found it very endearing.  
"Oh, you know nothing," he winked at the blonde and this time they both laughed.  
The waitress with food and drinks came back amazingly quickly and interrupted their conversation. After she had put plates and glasses down in front of them, she hurried back into the kitchen.  
During the meal they talked about all kinds of things. Axel complained about university. About how tight the deadlines were, even though most of it was his fault because he didn't have good time management. Roxas told him about the last Struggle tournament he had participated in together with Hayner. And about this Cifer-Kid who made life difficult for him and his friends.  
"You should introduce him to your fist," Axel suggested as he shoved one of the last fries in his mouth, "Your punch speaks volumes."  
Sighing, Roxas rolled his eyes at Axel. "Still haven't forgiven me, huh? I've tried real hard."  
He sipped at his Coke and sat back in that cheap aluminium chair.  
"Oh, don't worry, I did. But that won't keep me from rubbing it in your face a little bit longer."  
Disapprovingly, Roxas shook his head and cursed under his breath, but the smile on his lips spoke a completely different language.  
"Of course. Would have been too easy," he finally replied with a crooked smile, "I've got myself into trouble this time.”  
Axel just shrugged, then he followed Roxas' example and leaned back in his chair.  
A yawn escaped him and he quickly covered his mouth, then pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time.  
"Getting late. Doesn't anyone miss you at home?" he put his phone back and grinned tiredly.  
"Why? Are you trying to get rid of me already?" Roxas shot back, chin resting on the palm of his hand, "Am I too boring for you?  
"You're stupid."  
"Oh, now we're getting insulting. I am appalled."  
Axel shook his head in amusement and joined in with Roxas' laughter again. The evening had taken a surprisingly pleasant turn.  
"Well, I don't want to be an asshole..." Roxas winked at him mischievously. He reached for his wallet with one hand while waving at for the waitress with the other.  
As promised, he paid for the entire bill.

"Next time's on you. Deal?"  
After the warmth of the restaurant, it was even colder outside. Roxas had turned up his collar and buried his hands deep in his pockets.  
Axel however didn't seem to mind the cold despite only wearing a thin jacket. The guy even radiated warmth, so Roxas made sure to stay close to him, while they walked towards the city centre.  
"Second date?" Axel asked with a broad grin.  
"Maybe...", Roxas hesitated for a moment, then pulled one of his hands out of his pocket and extended it in Axels direction, "Depends on how you do."  
It took what felt like a full minute for the other guy to get the hint. A broad smile lit up his face as he took the Roxas' hand and locked their fingers together. "I'll do my best!"  
"Jerk!"  
Roxas grinned contentedly to himself, his heart now a lot lighter.  
"If you're so into Halloween and all that, we could take a look at that new Corn Maze. Supposed to be good. Somewhat scary too."  
"Unless you get violent again, count me in."  
Roxas took his hand from Axel's grip and punched his side slightly. The other flinched, but then just grabbed the blonde's hand again and pulled him a little closer.  
"I'm just kidding. After all, I can almost be glad about it. Almost."  
With his free hand he tapped his nose. Then he leaned over to plant a little kiss on the top of Roxas' head.  
"Jerk!”  
Roxas smiled soflty as he turned to face Axel.


End file.
